5 Minutes With... Scott Champion

With a name like “Champion” you’d think you’d be destined for greatness, but Scott Champion has been a struggling privateer for about a year now. Destiny may have reared its head at Washougal today, though, as Champion – who was at the track shooting photos for VitalMX.com on the new YZ250F – had a factory ride fall into his lap. He will be riding Josh Hill's factory YZ450F at Washougal this Saturday. We caught him on the phone, thanks to GuyB, and this is how the conversation went.

I bet you are. How did all of this come about?
Well, GuyB [from VitalMX.com] came up to me at RedBud, and he told me he was trying to find somebody to test out the 2010 Yamaha YZ250F and do a photo shoot, and so he asked me if I wanted to do it, and I was like, “Yeah, I want to do it! Of course I’d do it!” So we met up here at Washougal, and I rode yesterday, and all of the Yamaha guys were out here, and I got to talk to them, and we went bowling and stuff, and they kind of figured out the situation I was in, where I was riding my girlfriend’s bike and a lot of things that a privateer goes through. But they saw me riding here yesterday, and they came up to me today and asked if I wanted to ride [Josh] Hill’s bike this weekend in the national. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it was actually real! So I’m super-pumped right now, man, and I’m thankful for them and everybody at Yamaha for making this happen and giving me a chance for this weekend.

You haven’t been pro for very long, have you?
My first pro national was here at Washougal last year. This was my first national last year, so I’m pumped to be here, and I’m happy to have this feeling a year later.

It’s every kid’s dream to be able to ride a factory bike like that...
I literally think about it every single day, you know? It’s what motivates me to train and work to try to get up to that level. I don’t even know what to say. I’m so pumped. It’s a dream come true.

Oh, wow, I didn’t know you were actually racing her bike in the nationals up to this point.
I didn’t start racing until like RedBud, but that’s what I was going to race this weekend. We thought about it for a while, and we didn’t know if I should race Washougal or not, being on a not-very-competitive bike. I didn’t know if I should just keep racing or take a step back and sit it out and think about another plan.

So what’s the plan for testing for you?
We get to ride a little bit on Friday, which is like Press Day or something like that, so we’re going to use that time to kind of dial in the bike and get some little suspension things and everything else done up.

So are you going to run a VitalMX.com sticker on your bike?
I don’t know if I’m allowed to run it on the bike, but on my helmet, for sure.

Who would you like to thank?
First of all, I’d like to thank Erin, because I really wouldn’t be here if she didn’t offer me the opportunity to go to the races with her. I was only planning on doing Glen Helen, but then she came up to me there and asked if I wanted to go to the rest of the races with her. I’d also like to thank these Yamaha guys who have been great to me, my buddy Kyle who has let me borrow his bike from Glen Helen to RedBud, and all my friends and family, and GuyB from VitalMX.com, and everybody who has helped me get to here. It’s been a tough road, but I’m glad to be here. My buddy Mike at Revolution 2M; he’s helped me pay for some groceries and things that mean the most at the end of the day. Answer Racing has helped me for a couple years now with gear, and not having to pay for that little stuff helps me out a lot. And then my friends and family and everyone else.